Sealibtg-plttg for oil-wells



D. C. MILLER.

SEALING PLUG FOR OIL WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4.191s.

INYENTOR av? my s E s s E N W W ATTORNEY Tns DAVID C. MILLER, OF TULSA,-OKLAHOMA.

SEALING-PLUG FOR OIL-WELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Application filed May 4, 1916. Serial No. 95,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID C. MILLER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at' Oilells, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a sealing plug for oil wells and moreparticularly to a device of this character which may be lowered into theoil well casing or tubing, whereby the bottom of the casing or tubingmay be sealed and closed for preventing the inlet of water in wellswhich have penetrated to such a depth that water tends to enter the welland thereby prevent the proper working of the well.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a plug,constructed of suitable soft metal, which will be absolute and re liablefor securing itself in the tubing or casing in a manner that will permitit to be extracted if it is desired.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a sealing plug forthe tubing of an oil well which will be expansible when struck by thedrilling tools and which will be provided with means for retaining theexpansible portion of the plug in the desired position within thetubing.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a sealing plugwhich consists of comparatively few parts and is simple in construction,but durable and well adapted to withstand the rough usage to whichdevices of this character are ordinarily subjected- For a fulldescription of the invention and the advantages and merits thereof,reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanyingdrawings, wherein is illustrated the preferred form of my invention, inwhich;

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a portion of an oilwell casing showing the sealing plug arranged therein. Fig. 2 is a topview of the sealing plug within the casing. Fig. 3 is a transversesection on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary verticalsection of the lower portion of theplug.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the tubing or casingof an oil well. The expansible plug 2 is constructed of lead or othersuitable soft metal and is of a diameter slightly less than the innerdiameter of the tubing. A ring 8 is secured to the upper face of theplug 2 and is designed to receive the end of a cable for lowering thedevice into the casing or tubing 1. Depending from the plug 2, atopposite sides thereof, are the retaining arms at which are ta pered asat 5 on their inner sides and terminate at their lower ends at the edgeof an annular supporting ring 6. A ring 7 is mounted upon the retainingarms 4 at a point above the annular supporting ring 6 and is secured tothe retaining arm l by any suitable fastening elements. For fasteningthe mandrel 8 in position, the supporting or retaining arms 4 areprovided with apertures through which fastening screws 9 are extendedand are received by screw threaded apertures in the lower portion of themandrel 8. The mandrel 8 is constructed of cast iron or other suitablehard metal and is designed to receive the bottom of the expansible plug2 when the drilling tools are being operated upon the stop face of theexpansible plug for collapsing the same. The mandrel 8 offers arestraint to the impact of the blows received on the top of theexpansible plug 2 from the drilling tools. In this connection, it ispointed out, that the drilling tools whichare ordinarily used fordrilling the oil well, are employed in this instance to .cause theexpansible plug to expand and seal the tubing. The retaining arms aprevent the expansible plug from being drawn outwardly within the tubingor from rebounding after the impact of the drilling tools and also serveto retain the expansible plug in the proper position within the tubing.It will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art to whichthis invention pertains, that the retaining arms will expand and bendwhile the tools are being operated on the expansible plug and, the plugwill be quickly forced downward until it is obliged to expand by virtueof its connecting with the hard metal mandrel. As

shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing the retaining arms are slightly bowed orbent, this being the position the arms will assume when a few blows havebeen struck upon the expansible plug.

It is well known in devices of this character that the tubing or casingof the oil well requires a base or filling of stone or scrap iron forthe required depth whereby the plug may be received on a firm base. Inthis instance however, I have provided the lower end of the mandrel 8with a screw threaded aperture or recess 10 into which is threaded thethreaded end of a rod 11 having an enlarged end 12. This constructionprovides an anchor for the plug and thereby obviates the necessity offilling the tubing with stone or scrap iron.

In reduction to practice I have found that the form of my inventionillustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, asthe preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practicable, yetrealizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my devicewill necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minorchanges in the details of construction, proportion and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of theadvantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sealing plug for oil wells including a soft metal plug, a retainingframe carried by said plug, and means carried by said frame forreceiving said plug whereby restraint may be imparted to said plug uponthe impact of a blow upon said plug.

2. A sealing plug for oil wells including a soft metal plug, and a hardmetal mandrel disposed beneath said soft metal plug.

3. A sealing plug for oil Wells including a soft metal plug, a hardmetal mandrel disposed beneath said soft metal plug, and anchoring meansconnected to the bottom of said mandrel.

4. A sealing plug for oil wells including an eXpansible plug, supportingarms depending from said plug, and resisting means carried by saiddepending arms and disposed beneath said plug, for receiving the bottomof said plug whereby a restraint will be offered to the impact of a blowon the top of said plug.

5. A sealing plug for oil wells including an eXpansible plug, supportingarms depending from said plug, and a supporting ring carried by saidarms at the lower ends thereof, and restraining means carried by saiddepending arms and disposed beneath said plug for receiving the bottomof said plug when a blow is struck on the top of said plug.

6. A sealing plugfor oil wells including an expansible plug, supportingarms depending from said plug, and resisting means carried by saiddependingarms and disposed beneath said plug, for receiving the bottomof said plug whereby a restraint will be offered to the impact of a blowon the top of said plug, and anchoring means connected to said firstmentioned means for limiting the movement of said resisting means.

7. A sealing plug, including a soft expansible plug, retaining armssecured to said plug, a supporting ring carried by the lower ends ofsaid retaining arms, a cylindrical mandrel carried by said supportingring and arranged between said retaining arms, said retaining arms beingprovided with apertures at their lower ends, fastening screws extendingthrough said apertures for fastening said mandrel to said retainingarms, a ring surrounding said mandrel and having said retaining armsdisposed within its inner periphery whereby the lower portions of saidarms will be held in contact with said mandrel. V

8. A sealing plug, including a soft expansible plug, retaining armssecured to said plug, a supporting ring carried by the lower ends ofsaid retaining arms, a cylindrical mandrel carried by said supportingring and arranged between said retaining arms, said retaining arms beingprovided with apertures at their lower ends, fastening screws extendingthrough said apertures for fastening said mandrel to said retainingarms, a ring surrounding said mandrel and having said retaining armsdisposed within its inner periphery whereby the lower portions of saidarms will be held in contact with said mandrel, and a rod screwthreadedly mounted in the lower end of said mandrel and having anenlarged portion formed on its free end for limiting the downwardmovement of said plug.

9. In a sealing plug for oil wells, the combination with a casing, andmeans comprising hard and soft metallic material adapted to close saidcasing when struck by a blow.

10. In a sealing plug for oil wells, the combination with a casing, of amandrel disposed within the casing and of a smaller diameter than theinterior of the casing, and an expansible plug disposed above themandrel in spaced relation to thetop thereof, and supporting meanssecured to the bottom end of the mandrel and connected to the said plug,said means being disposed within the space between the interior wall ofthe casing and the said mandrel.

11. In a sealing plug for oil wells, the combination with a well casing,and means comprising hard and soft metallic material adapted to closesaid casing when struck by a blow, and anchoring means for said firstmentioned means. 7

12. In a sealing plug for oil wells, the

combination with a casing, of a soft metal expansible plug disposedwithin the casing, restraining means disposed below said expansible plugand spaced therefrom for expanding said plug when same is forced intocontact with said means, and retaining arms carried by the lower end ofthe restraining means and extending above the same for supporting saidexpansible plug, said retaining arms being adapted to collapse when ablow is struck upon said plug.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID C. MILLER. Witnesses:

L. B. SLIGAR, D. E. GRANT, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

